The Westchester Fizz

3 oz. Nicolas Feuillaute Brut Champagne

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1 oz. Hendrick’s Gin

1 large cucumber slice

2 strawberries, chopped

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. agave nectar

Directions: In a mixing glass, muddle the strawberry and cucumber in the lemon and simple.  Add the Grand Marnier and Hendrick’s Gin and shake well with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled tall glass, and top off with the Nicolas Feuillaute Champagne.  Stir briefly to incorporate.

Garnish: cucumber and strawberry slice

The Pony Express

1 1/2 oz. Blackbeard Rum

1/2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower liqueur

1 oz. pineapple juice

handful of mint leaves

Directions: Shake well with ice and strain into chilled martini glass and top off with Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne.

Garnish: lime wheel

Newport Sailing Week:

2 oz. Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka

1 scoop hard vanilla frozen yogurt

6 oz. chilled diet root beer

Directions: Add the vodka directly to a tall glass, then top with root beer, and lastly the ice cream (add slowly, as it has a tendency to overflow).  Garnish with a long straw and enjoy!

Mediterranean Summer Sipper

1 1/4 oz. Corzo Silver

2 whole strawberries, chopped

1 sprig of fresh basil

4 drops of balsamic vinegar (aged)

3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. agave nectar

Directions: Muddle the strawberries and basil in the lime, agave, and balsamic.  Add Corzo and shake very well with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.

Garnish: sprig of basil

The Sage Panamanian

1 1/2 oz. Ron Abuelo

1/2 oz. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. agave nectar

8-10 blueberries

2 Sage leaves

Diet Ginger Beer (Barritt’s or Regatta)

Directions: In a mixing glass, muddle the blueberries and the sage in the orange juice and agave nectar.  Add the rum and shake well with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled highball glass.  Top with the ginger beer and stir briefly.

Garnish: sage leaf and several floating blueberries

As a pitcher drink (serves 8-10):

1 1/2 cups Ron Abuelo rum

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1 oz. agave nectar

1 package of blueberries

10-12 sage leaves

2 bottles of Diet Ginger Beer

Directions: In a large pitcher, muddle the berries and sage leaves.  Add the remaining ingredients, including ice, and stir well.

1 1/2 parts Russian Standard Vodka

1 part Bigelow Tea Jasmine Green (iced)

1/2 part honey syrup

1 part white grape juice

3/4 part fresh lemon juice

Mix into pitcher with berry ice (ice that has berries frozen into it)

Garnish: the berry ice, and candied ginger

Cucumber-Raspberry Yogurt Dip with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

(serves 8-10)

1/2 of a cucumber, sliced into small chunks

1 pint of raspberries

1/2 liter container of Greek Yogurt

1/2 tsp. dill

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions: Add all of these ingredients to a food processor and combine for several seconds.  Serve in fancy dish with blue corn tortilla chips.

1 oz. Corzo Sliver Tequila

3/4 oz. St. Germain

3/4 oz. Sandeman’s Medium dry sherry

Top w/ champagne

Directions: Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Top w/ the champagne.

Garnish: lemon peel

Strawberry-Ginger Cobbler

1 1/2 oz. Sandeman’s dry seco sherry

2 strawberries, chopped

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz. honey syrup

Directions: Muddle the strawberries in the lemon and honey syrup.  Add the sherry and shake well with ice.  Strain over crushed ice into highball glass.

Garnish: Strawberry, mint sprig, and candied ginger

The Night Owl

1 oz. Sandeman’s Armada cream sherry

1 oz. Van Gogh double espresso vodka

1 oz. Combier orange liqueur

2 dashes chocolate biters

Directions: Stir well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish: orange peel

HIS

1 1/2 oz. Jasmine pearls tea-infused Imperia Vodka

1/2 oz. Vanilla liqueur

3/4 oz. honey syrup

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Directions: Shake all ingredients very well with ice and strain over ice into a rocks glass.

Garnish: 3 drops of violet-flavored liqueur at the bottom of the glass and freshly grated nutmeg

HERS

1 1/2 oz. Imperia Vodka

1/2 oz. tangerine juice

1 tsp. agave nectar

5 chunks of honeydew melon

Orange-Musk Blend (a blend of orange flower water and smoky single malt scotch whisky)

Directions: Muddle the melon in the tangerine juice and the agave nectar.  Then add the Imperia and shake very well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass that has been coated in the orange musk blend.

Garnish: rim the cocktail glass with spicy cocoa powder mix

LUCID

FOR BOTH (in a pitcher)

Jonathan’s Love Potion No. 4

1/2 oz. Lucid Absinthe

1 oz. Pomegranate juice

1/2 oz. dark crème de cacao

Top w/ Crement d’Alsace sparkling wine

Spray of rose water inside the glass and on top of the drink

Directions: Add all ingredients to a pitcher with ice and stir to dilute and chill.  Then serve in a champagne flute that has been sprayed with rose water.

I’ve hand-selected all of the high-quality tools included in the kit.

So, enough blabber – what’s included?

- High-quality zippered bag with pockets and pouches (approx. 8″ X 6″) with “The Cocktail Guru” logo on the front
- Boston shaker (tempered mixing glass with “The Cocktail Guru” logo, and weighted shaker tin)
- Julep Strainer
- Hawthorne Strainer
- Jigger (1 1/2 oz. X 3/4 oz.)
- Mixing spoon
- Classic Maple wood muddler (w/ The Cocktail Guru logo)
- 5-page laminated booklet of some of my favorite seasonal cocktail recipes (1 recipe per season)

All for the low, low price of $95 (shipping included!)

To buy the kit, click here. (scroll to middle of page and click the paypal button)

I have to begin this post with an admission: I stole (or rather, borrowed) the phrase “Cognac Maniac” from the BNIC, who organized this lovely trip to Cognac.  You can join the Cognac Maniacs Facebook page here.

Now that I’ve cleared the air, here’s a little overview of my trip thus far:

What do you get when you blend the best sommeliers, journalists, and mixologists from countries like England, Germany, Austria, and the U.S.?  Perhaps something equivalent to an X.O. Cognac?  Close, anyways.

This 4-day experience officially entitled the “International Cognac Summit (ICS)” is in its 4th year now.  Each year, the groups are put to work and assigned an official task: The first year it was to create the signature “Summit Cocktail”…the second year it was to create the official Cognac Aroma Wheel…

This year, our task is to “Measure Pleasure.”  Now, this may sound very unattainable and a tad on the controversial side, but according to our leaders, it can be done.  To prove it, we were each given small “Pleasure Indicators” or “Cognaculators”: small remote control devices in which we can press numbers from 0 to 10 to indicate our pleasure level.  Needless to say, we’ve been amusing ourselves with the innumerable innuendos that come along with a device such as this.  But in all reality, it’s a very interesting concept that we are all on board with.

Our first official day was filled with tasting, visiting, and dining.  Our morning began with an introduction into the Cognac market (Did you know that there is the equivalent of 1.2 billion bottles of stock in Cognac, or that 5 bottles of Cognac are consumed per second in the entire world?  I sure didn’t.)

Next up was a presentation by Dr. Luc Lurton, the head of research at the BNIC.  We learned that Cognac has several hundred aroma compounds that all come from either the grapes, the fermentation process, distillation, or the wood casks.

The German spirits superstar Jurgen Deibel then introduced our little pleasure remote controls that we will be carrying around with us for the duration of the trip.  It really is a cool concept – the information collected from these remotes get transported to a special computer program that computes and analyzes the date, forming a graph with the results.  Mind-blowing.

Later on we had the pleasure of visiting the Cognac Frapin distilery situated in the heart of the vineyards.  I wish I had the photos uploaded at this point – but there’s just not time.  Please check back in a few days to see all the photos.

A highlight was hearing Max Cointreau, a living legend in the spirits business, chat about his cognac and the importance of our visit to his distillery.  Yes, Max Cointreau as in THE Cointreau.  His family joined forces with the Remy Martin family to create the powerhouse that is Remy Cointreau.

We toured the facilities, which seem as genuine and true as they get.  Lunch was a veritable cornucopia of cured meats, smoked salmon, fois gras, breads, and cheeses.  And, of course, Cognac.  Mind you, this meal was served entirely in the authentic Chateau Fontpinot on the Cognac Frapin property.

I think I can speak for the rest of the group and say…

Speechless…we were all speechless.

Parts 2 & 3, along with some nifty pics (and perhaps a video or two) of the trip, are still to come in the next few days — so stay tuned!

The Mionetto Merry Berry Cocktail

Stir:

4 parts Mionetto Prosecco Brut DOC

1 part Pama Pomegranate Liqueur

Slice of lime

Serve over ice

Cranberry-Spiced Sparkler (served at Bookmarks Lounge, NYC)

8 cranberries

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice agave nectar*

splash of fresh lemon juice

3 oz. Mionetto Prosecco Brut

Directions: In a mixing glass, muddle the cranberries in the pie spice agave nectar and lemon juice.  Then add the prosecco and gently fold.  Strain into a champagne flute and top with additional prosecco.

Garnish: 3 floating cranberries

*Pumpkin pie spice agave nectar – for every 1 cup of agave nectar, add 1 tsp. of store-bought pumpkin pie spice and stir to incorporate.

Apple-Cinnamon Sparkler (pitcher version – great for groups) (served at Bookmarks Lounge, NYC)

In a pitcher, add the following:

1/2 cup cinnamon syrup*

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup apple cider

2 cups Mionetto Prosecco Brut

Stir briefly with ice and serve immediately.

Garnish with sliced apples and lemons

*cinnamon syrup – combine 1 cup of sugar in the raw and 1 cup of water and dissolve sugar over heat – then add 2 cinnamon sticks and simmer for 15 mins.  Chill and serve.

Here are the recipes I mixed up on “Fox & Friends” on Sun, Dec. 26th – bright and early at 7:30am!

FOX & FRIENDS Segment 12/26/10

Boxing Day Leftover Martini

2 oz. Bombay Sapphire gin

3/4 oz. carrot juice

1/2 oz. honey syrup

1/2 oz. pineapple juice

2 sage leaves

Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a sage leaf.

2011 Heaven

1 1/2 oz. Dewars 12

1/2 oz. orange liqueur

1/2 oz. clove syrup

1/2 oz. coffee liqueur

Shake and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.  Garnish with a long orange peel.

Martini Poinsettia Punch

2 1/2 cups Martini Asti Sparkling Wine

2 cups Martini Rosato

1 1/2 cup POM Pomegranate juice

3/4 cup Fever Tree Ginger Beer

3/4 cup Fresh lemon juice

Maple Syrup to taste

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a punch bowl with block ice and stir to chill and dilute.   Add several lemon wheels and star anise to the punch bowl.  Ladle out into punch glasses.